son of Junayd, was too defeated and killed in Tabasaran. In 1500 Shah Ismail I, the son of Heydar, made a foray into Dagestan, seized Tabasaran and brutally cracked down on the civilians in retaliation for the death of Haydar. Expansion of territory In the 16th century shamkhals , with the support of utsmi of Kaitag, maisum of Tabasaran and nutsal of Khunzakh, directed the energy of highlanders to external wars. Raids on "unbelievers" of Georgia and Cherkessia became regular. Historian Gadjiev V. wrote that "shamkhalate in the period of its political domination became a large state on the map of medieval Caucasus". Shamkhal and the ruler of Shirvan began competing for the hegemony in the northern Azerbaijan. King of Kakhetia Levan an ally and kinsman of shamkhal also feuded with Shirvan. Era of prosperity A common economic zone emerged with neighbouring regions. Almost every village was a workshop organization, supplying the needs of common internal and external market. The city of Tarki became a trading point of Caspian Sea passage that brought large revenues to the treasury. The second name of Gazi-Kumukh was a "Large market" where a fair every Thursday was conducted. Ismey-Haji Guseinov writes: "Between Safavid shah and shamkhal a political and military alliance was made which was strengthened by a marriage between shah Tahmasp I and the daughter of shamkhal. The house of shamkhals became related to the rulers of Kabarda, Persia, Kakheti and Crimea. Rulers Relocation to the plain Ali Kayaev wrote about shamkhals that "their strong branch migrated from Gazi-Kumukh to the lowlands" of Dagestan. Election of shamkhal The title "shamkhal" in the first half of the 16th century was passed by seniority. The shamkhal rulers were assumed to be the descent from Genghis Khan from the dynasty of the rulers of Jochi Ulus though there is no evidence for that. The rulers were called in Turkic as "Kazikumuks" and in Persian as "Lezgins". In the Iranian works "History of Persian tazkere" and "Safina-ye hoshgu" the rulers Shamkhalate and their descendants in the royal court of the Shah were referred to as "Lezgins". Iranian "Lezgins" corresponded to the modern name of "Dagestanis". The naming of shamkhalate as "Gazikumukh" is Turkic and refers to the invasion of Tamerlane at the end of the 14th century. The naming of shamkhalate can be original only according to the Lak language, as Lak shamkhalate. Foreign policy Relations with